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Ashtama Shani is of great importance for those following and believing in astrology. Ashtama Sani is the movement of Sani to the eighth house as per horoscope calculations and is considered highly inauspicious. Ashtama Sani 2011 Transition will take place on November 15 and Shani makes the transition to Tula Rashi or (Libra Zodiac). Ashtama Shani begins for Meena or Pisces. Ashtama sani will come to end for Kumbha Rasi on November 15, 2011. The date varies for different Panchangams. The transition is on December 21, 2011 for Pambu Panchang followed in South India - it is known as Shani Peyarachi. For those born under Meena Rashi (Moon Sign Pisces), Sani makes the transition to the eighth house and is considered to be bad. He will stay in this Rashi in the eighth house till 2nd Nov 2014. For Karka Raasi individuals (Cancer Zodiac), Sani is in the fourth house and this is known as Ardha Ashtama Sani and this is also considered bad. Please note that during Ashtama Sani transition and Asht…

Hindu Blog is three years old today. The blog that I started to learn about Sanatana Dharma has grown nicely over the years and the greatest achievement has been the interaction I had through the blog with some great minds – some valuable lessons and thoughts shared by people from around the world. The interaction still continues and each day a common man comes to the blog finds something interesting and he/she adds her thoughts to it – keeping the quest alive.So what have I learned about Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) so far by writing the blog? I remember the words of Dr S. Radhakrishnan in his book Bhagavad Gita. Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined but is only to be experienced.Hinduism exhibits a complete independence and freedom of the human mind, its full confidence in its own powers.Hinduism is freedom, especially the freedom in thinking about God. In the search for the supernatural, it is like traveling in space without a bo…

‘Gita for Everyday Living’ published by Ramakrishna Mission attempts to rephrase and reiterate the eternal teachings of Bhagavad Gita for contemporary needs. The book is a collection of articles by scholars and Swamis of Ramakrishna Mission and has chapters like ‘Gita for commoners’, ‘Gita’s way of right activity’, ‘Keeping calm — the Gita way’, ‘Gita for Teachers’, ‘Gita and Service.’Gita for Everyday Living explores the message of the Gita in a contemporary and practical context. It attempts to remove the problems in life created mainly due to the lack of proper understanding of life and the nature of the Supreme Being. It also tries to alleviate confusion created by the mind through its wanderings.The book contains articles originally published in the December 2008 issue of The Vedanta Kesari (a monthly published by Ramakrishna Mission, Chennai) and also has 36 illuminating articles on various topics.Gita for Everyday LivingPrice – Rupees 70/-Published by - Sri Ramakrishna Math, M…

It is very difficult, particularly for the western mind, to understand that life is purposeless. And it is beautiful that it is purposeless. If it is purposeful then the whole thing become absurd – then who will decide the purpose? Then some God has to be conceived who decides the purpose, and then human beings become just puppets, then no freedom is possible. And if there is some purpose then life becomes businesslike; it cannot be ecstatic.The West has been thinking in terms of purpose, but the East has been thinking in terms of purposelessness. The East says life is not a business, it is a play. And a play has no purpose really; it is non-purposeful. Or, you can say play is its own purpose; to play is enough. Life is not reaching towards some goal; life itself is the goal. It is not evolving towards some ultimate; this very moment, here and now, life is ultimate, life as it is accepted in the East. The East says God is not the creator, God is the creation. Nobody has created it; it…